1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved combined shopping center and apartment building and more particularly to an improved multilevel building having at least one level of living units, or apartments, constructed integral with and above a shopping center, with access from each apartment to a system of common corridors sufficiently wide to permit easy use by people using wheelchairs, walkers or motorized carts, as well as by pedestrians on each living unit floor. Each apartment includes a patio space between its rear entrance and the adjacent common corridor, and the common corridor system is sufficiently wide to permit easy use by people using wheelchairs, walkers or motorized carts, as well as by pedestrians, provides a continuous passageway surrounding all apartments and extends on opposed sides of each individual apartment. In the preferred embodiment of this building structure, access is provided from the apartment levels directly to the shopping center level for safety and convenience of the apartment dwellers and to encourage their use of the shopping center facilities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The continuous growth and demand for affordable dwellings, particularly in urban communities where available space for new building structures is limited and consequently very expensive, has resulted in an increase in the number of so-called high-rise, high density dwelling structures. Such high density structures enable economical land use, which in turn, provides more affordable living space, especially for low and middle income families.
The conventional high density apartment building typically consists of two rows of side-by-side apartments arranged in opposed relation one on each side of a common corridor on each floor. In this arrangement, the only exit from the individual apartment units is the single door leading into the single interior corridor. Further, the single interior corridor, typically extending between closed doors of the two rows of apartments, is not conducive to exercise walking, or in wheel chairs, motorized carts, or to socializing with neighbors on the same or other floors. The lack of natural lighting through windows simply does not encourage use of corridors for such purposes.
It is also known to provide dwelling structures consisting of a generally rectangular enclosure consisting of two rows of dwelling units such as apartments or rooms constructed in back-to-back relation, with a continuous open balcony or walkway extending around the enclosed structure to provide access to individual units. Such structures are commonly used in low rise units such as motels or the like. Again, only a single door is provided from the individual unit directly onto the balcony or walkway surrounding the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,989 discloses a multilevel cylindrical building including a plurality of adjacent dwelling units on each aboveground level, with an open external balcony or walkway which may completely encircle the building. Radial passageways extend from the external walkway to internal stairways extending between floors and too internal commercial or other space. Occupants of any dwelling unit may walk along the external walkway to any radial location of the building and may use external or internal stairways to any floor of the building.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,405,496, 5,199,231 and 4,971,505, disclose multilevel building structures with a plurality of floors of dwelling units located above or adjacent to commercial space such as a shopping center, grocery store or the like. Each of these patents also discloses structure providing access from the dwelling units to the commercial floors. Again, however, these building structures are not configured to facilitate or encourage use of walkways, corridors or the like as exercise or socializing facilities, do not provide exits from opposite sides of the individual living units to a common corridor system, and do not provide enclosed patios between the living units and the common corridor system.